All Blog Posts from World Watch

Iran has experimented with a nuclear warhead design so advanced, it's still a secret in both the U.S. and Britain, according to a report in Friday's Guardian.

The British newspaper reports that intelligence suggesting the isolated Islamic regime tested components of a "two-point implosion" warhead has been handed over to Iran by the U.N. nuclear watchdog as part of a dossier of matters requiring explanation.

Parts of the International Atomic Energy Agency's dossier has been published in the past, but this is the first claim that Iran has sought such advanced weaponry — a claim nuclear experts called "breathtaking" when asked by the Guardian.

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This story was filed by CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer in Vienna. CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals in London contributed to the report.

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Updated, 7:59 a.m. Eastern:

Diplomats from Iran, the U.S., Russia and France agreed Wednesday to a draft proposal that would see Iran ship about 75 percent of it's enriched uranium to Russia by the end of this year.

Each nation's government will still need to ratify the agreement individually by Friday, and it's unclear whether Iran's hard-line rulers intend to do so.

Iran's envoy was upbeat following the morning talks. Lead negotiator Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters upon emerging from the closed door meetings that a side deal attached to the proposal includes an historic first: a proposed direct transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Iran, including "control, instrument and safety equipment" for the research reactor at Tehran University.

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This story was filed by CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer in Vienna.

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Senior diplomats from the U.S., Iran, France and Russia missed a noon deadline Tuesday to start talks aimed at hammering out a historic deal on Iran's uranium stockpile.

At first, the negotiations at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria seemed to hold real promise. After the introductory round of talks late Monday, a senior U.S. official said the Iranians had "engaged constructively".

Officials said Iran forced Tuesday's delay by suddenly announcing that France should be excluded from the talks — apparently the latest twist in a long-running business dispute.

Diplomats are now wondering whether Iran's last-minute objections to France's presence at the table in Vienna are in fact a thinly disguised attempt to derail the whole process.

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Iran has tried to acquire materials for a nuclear weapon in Canada, according to a top official in Canada's Border Services Agency.

George Webb, head of the agency's Counter Proliferation Section, says customs officers have seized centrifuge parts (centrifuges are used to enrich uranium) and electronic components for bombs and guidance systems.

Webb made the claims in a story published Thursday in Canada's National Post.

"Anything to do with a nuclear program [is] going to Iran," Webb said in the article.

Webb said that Iran is acquiring the components through "procurement rings" involving front companies and unprincipled entrepreneurs. The components move along elaborate paths through Vancouver, Hong Kong, and particularly the United Arab Emirates, where Webb says the Iranian government is controlling a port for the purpose of clandestinely moving such goods.

Webb's allegations come as the U.S., Britain, France and other western countries are expressing alarm over a recently-declared nuclear facility in Iran and ratcheting up threats of harsh retaliation against Iran should it pursue a nuclear weapon.

The article, however, offers nothing to corroborate Webb's claims and reports them without even a hint of skepticism, except to say that "The devices can be used in peaceful nuclear plants but are also required to produce nuclear weapons" and to note that there have been few arrests and no convictions in connection with Webb's far-reaching claims.

But skepticism is merited. The government claims and breathless media reporting – without adequate evidence – that Iran is a grave and looming threat is reminiscent of the same claims and media coverage in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, as several commentators have pointed out. Remember Saddam Hussein's horde of yellowcake uranium?

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Il issued a "special pardon" today for two jailed American journalists, following talks with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

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With two American journalists' freedom at stake, former President Bill Clinton has arrived in Pyongyang to talk to the North Koreans. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested by North Korean authorities near the border with China and were sentenced to 12 years in a prison camp for illegal entry and "hostile" acts.

Thus far, negotiations with Kim Jong Il's regime have lead North Korea to ban International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, walk away from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and restart its nuclear testing — even during the days of direct engagement under the Clinton Administration.

Hillary's tricky mandate for Bill: Return with the American journalists and reduce tension between the two countries, without compromising the Obama administration's commitment to the six-party talks. No small task.

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In an unprecedented effort to deliver a message to Washington, North Korea's Ambassador to the U.N., Sin Son Ho, initiated a call to CBS News and its affiliate, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), to talk about denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

What followed was a clear message, from North Korea's viewpoint, about what has derailed negotiations with the government of Kim Jong Il: The United States.

"We are not against the dialogue," said Ambassador Sin. "We are not against any negotiations for the issues of common concern," but the failure of these talks, he added, "is not because of us."

CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk reports that, according to Ambassador Sin, Pyongyang is prepared to negotiate directly with Washington about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program: "We are ready, any time," he said.

But the Obama administration has stuck to the framework of the six-party talks. Those negotiations, involving the two Koreas, China, Russia, Japan and the U.S., have been unhinged several times, with Pyongyang returning to the development of its nuclear program and the testing of ballistic missiles.

For North Korea, those negotiations will not restart.

"We have already made our position very clear," Ambassador Sin told CBS. "The six-party talks are gone forever. We will never participate in the six-party talks again. Never again."

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China is walking through this gingerly, like a man whose pockets are loaded up with fragile eggs. The Foreign Ministry spokesman says China is "resolutely opposed" to the North's nuclear weapons program.

And China has been leading the effort at negotiations primarily through the six party talks, involving China, Russia, U.S., Japan and South and North Korea.

But North Korea has now walked away from the talks and China is having a hard time finding an answer to this latest saber rattling.

Beijing is trapped by its own insistence — usually directed at the United States — that one country has no right to interfere in the affairs of another.

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On Monday, North Korea's official news agency announced that the regime had "successfully" conducted an underground nuclear test. Although the test has yet to be fully verified, it was announced on the heels of a long-range missile launch on April 5, and it has the international community duly worried about what the opaque government of Kim Jung Il wants.

What is most remarkable is how fast the relationship of the government in Pyongyang has soured with the rest of the world.

Now, with a new underground nuclear weapons test, fresh test missile launches, and a possible internal power struggle brewing, North Korea poses a more significant challenge to President Obama, and the world, than ever before.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned against allowing Iran to become a nuclear power in some of his harshest rhetoric yet.

In a report published Tuesday, The Atlantic says Netanyahu's message was clear: If President Obama doesn't act to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon, the Israelis may be forced to attack Iran and do it themselves.

The article is titled, "Netanyahu to Obama: Stop Iran—Or I Will".

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